Climate Change, Air Quality, and Pulmonary Health Disparities

Scientific Mapping of Global Research on Health Equity by 2023: A Bibliometric Study

Background and Aims

There has been a growing focus on health equity (HE) within health systems. Studies in HE have revealed significant domains that have been the focus of attention for academics and research institutions. This research aimed to provide an in-depth perspective on the research efforts conducted around the world concerning HE.

Methods

In this bibliometric study, we used co-word analysis to map HE studies indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and PubMed by the end of 2023. A comprehensive search was carried out in the databases, and the data were analyzed employing VOSviewer software. Along with analyzing publication trends, thematic clusters, and emerging topics in HE were identified.

Results

The compound annual growth rate of the HE documents in PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science were 0.157, 0.173, 0.453, and 0.317, respectively. Topic clusters of HE keywords in the period preceding the COVID-19 pandemic were "Health care," "Health economics," "Race and ethnicity," "Social determinants of health," and "Age and gender." The analyses related to the time following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the identification of six topic clusters, namely "Health workforce," "Risk factors," "Maternal and child health," "COVID-19," "Cancer," and "Mental health." Moreover, "Artificial intelligence," "Racial disparity," "Machine learning," and "COVID-19," were four key emerging topics of HE pertinent to the post-COVID-19 period.

Conclusion

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in research focused on HE. The focus of research in HE has shifted to an emphasis on various diseases and their risk factors. Emerging topics identified in this study represent significant areas of interest as novel research domains, particularly within low- and middle-income countries.

A novel approach to integrate CCHP systems with desalination for sustainable energy and water solutions in educational buildings

This study presents a novel approach to integrating combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems with water desalination for enhanced energy and water management in educational buildings. Two distinct layouts for CCHP and desalination systems are introduced: one prioritizing efficient power generation to meet electricity demands while providing waste heat for desalination, and the other focusing on balancing cooling and heating loads alongside water desalination. Both layouts are tailored to meet the building's energy and water demands while considering operational efficiency. Optimization of these layouts against traditional systems using the bat search algorithm emphasizes economic viability and the gas engine's operational flexibility, which are crucial for partial load operation. In addition, an environmental assessment compares the proposed CCHP-desalination systems with conventional setups, assessing CO2 emission reductions and overall sustainability. The evaluation encompasses key environmental metrics, such as resource consumption and the integration of renewable energy sources. Results highlight significant CO2 emission reductions across various gas engine capacities, with notable enhancements in economic and environmental performance achieved by selecting a 3,250 kW gas engine within the CCHP-desalination system. This choice not only maximizes the annual profit but also reduces CO2 emissions by 57% compared to conventional systems, underscoring the system's sustainability benefits.

Early Pulmonary Fibrosis-like Changes in the Setting of Heat Exposure: DNA Damage and Cell Senescence

It is well known that extreme heat events happen frequently due to climate change. However, studies examining the direct health impacts of increased temperature and heat waves are lacking. Previous reports revealed that heatstroke induced acute lung injury and pulmonary dysfunction. This study aimed to investigate whether heat exposure induced lung fibrosis and to explore the underlying mechanisms. Male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to an ambient temperature of 39.5 ± 0.5 °C until their core temperature reached the maximum or heat exhaustion state. Lung fibrosis was observed in the lungs of heat-exposed mice, with extensive collagen deposition and the elevated expression of fibrosis molecules, including transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and Fibronectin (Fn1) (p < 0.05). Moreover, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurred in response to heat exposure, evidenced by E-cadherin, an epithelial marker, which was downregulated, whereas markers of EMT, such as connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and the zinc finger transcriptional repressor protein Slug, were upregulated in the heat-exposed lung tissues of mice (p < 0.05). Subsequently, cell senescence examination revealed that the levels of both senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining and the cell cycle protein kinase inhibitor p21 were significantly elevated (p < 0.05). Mechanistically, the cGAS-STING signaling pathway evoked by DNA damage was activated in response to heat exposure (p < 0.05). In summary, we reported a new finding that heat exposure contributed to the development of early pulmonary fibrosis-like changes through the DNA damage-activated cGAS-STING pathway followed by cellular senescence.